The Other Side
by MaryRoyale
Summary: Faith and Buffy get kicked through to the True Blood Universe; they'll have to rely on, and trust one another if they're to survive. One shot. Buffy/Faith friendship. M for language.


_Nobody—as far as I know, and I apologize if I am mistaken—but nobody has had Buffy just show up to Fangtasia and dance all sexy on the dance floor (completely ignoring everyone around her) like she did multiple times at the Bronze. However, if you have Buffy dancing like she just doesn't care—don't you have to have Faith? I think it's a requirement. Also, I have a tiny spot in my soul reserved for Buffy and Faith as friends. They are really the only people in the world who can understand what being a slayer really means, or meant before Joss made the slayer army. It used to be something that was incredibly lonely, dangerous, and put far too much responsibility for the rest of the world on their very slim shoulders._

_I blame this entirely on my own twisted imagination that very often won't leave me alone. ONE SHOT. Completely AU after season 7. I have NEVER read any of Season 8, so I am not even attempting to try and meld this into canon._

_B and me? We've never been very good friends. All right, I've been pretty shitty to her on more than one occasion. I may have slept with her boyfriend and tried to seduce her true love and all that, but hey—Sunnydale was a really boring place and there wasn't much to do. Okay, so maybe I tried to kill her true love that one time. Honestly, it was no big. She fixed him up and he was five by five in no time. I sort of regret that now. Angel, he's good people, he's always been there for me—he's helped through a lot of shit that most people just wouldn't understand. I don't know. Don't you dare tell her this, but…maybe I'm jealous. She always had everything: understanding mom, love of her life, caring friends, supportive Watcher. I only wanted to be a part of that. I didn't want to take it from her or anything psycho; I just wanted to be part of the group. There was this weird…I don't know…this longing to be a part of what she had. I guess when I thought she was pushing me away, denying me a part of the group, I lost it. I'm not proud of it, or anything, but I can admit it. Anyway, that's it. I hope this helps you and stuff. Just remember, if you ask B to help me—she'll either punch you in the face or laugh her ass off._

"What is this?" Buffy asked in disbelief. Holding the piece of paper in her hand like it was a venomous animal.

"Ah." One of the Watchers-in-training, Giles Jr., paled and started to move away from the slayer.

"Ah?" Buffy echoed sarcastically.

"It was…well, when we were trying to build files on everyone we asked Mr. Giles about your relationship with Faith, you know the two slayers alone before the Awakening," he began nervously. "Mr. Giles told us to…um…sod off, and that he wasn't going to talk about it. So then we asked Mr. Harris, and Ms. Rosenberg and they told us the same thing. Andrew had been there too late for any association with Faith before the Awakening. So…so…we asked her herself. If she could help us for the files."

"You nosy little bastard," Buffy growled angrily. Giles Jr. turned pale.

"I'm sorry, we're sorry, it was just that…we weren't sure if you two could or would work together without an apocalypse or something. We didn't know if we could assign you to normal situations." Giles Jr. was suddenly feeling the confessional spirit, which she so did not have time for.

"Normal? Giles Jr., nothing about our job is ever normal." Buffy stated flatly.

"I have asked you to not call me that," he muttered, adjusting his glasses.

"I could care less, _Giles Jr._, what you want. Fine, assign us together. That should be fun. I hope Giles has liability insurance for this." Buffy threw the paper at him and stalked off.

Faith was sitting with her back against a tree, sharpening it on a whetstone. Buffy rolled her eyes to herself. Posture much? Well, two could play that game. She was still _**the**_ slayer, and as such, no one had come between her and her Scythe since that last apocalypse. She spun it like a cheerleader baton, all totally casual, as she neared Faith. The dark haired woman looked up at her and grinned.

"Hey, B. Maybe we should just whip them out and measure, huh?" Faith asked with a laugh. She put her whetstone away in a case, and stood so that she could slide her blade into the scabbard on her back. Buffy shrugged and made a wry grimace.

"Whatever, let's get this over with," Buffy muttered.

"He says hi, by the way," Faith offered in a subdued tone of voice. Buffy turned to look at Faith sharply, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. She knew that Angel, as Faith's mentor for Psycho-Killers Anonymous (or whatever), kept in touch with Faith. She didn't have to rub Buffy's face in it.

"Thanks," Buffy said in the same subdued tone. "Tell him…tell him hi back, please."

"No problem," Faith said with a shrug. "Let's get this party started."

Buffy grunted noncommittally and slung her scythe over her shoulder.

"What's the sitch, again?" Buffy asked as the two slayers walked down the sidewalk side by side in the night.

"Giles Jr. wasn't too forthcoming. He said something about a Vrak demon who may, or may not be working with vampires. There may also be some ties to some dark magic," Faith offered. Buffy gave sharp laugh.

"You call him Giles Jr., too?" She asked.

"Yeah. He totally hates it, and that just makes me do it more, you know?" Faith grinned at Buffy in the dark.

"Yeah," Buffy replied with a frown.

It bothered her that they seemed to have so much in common after all these years, after all the things that Faith had done. The two women continued down the sidewalk in silence. Faith cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Hey, B, can I ask you a question?" Faith began.

"I can't really stop you," Buffy said.

"Have you been…um…noticing anything unusual about yourself?" Faith asked vaguely. Buffy stopped in the street and looked at Faith. She studied her for a moment that seemed to drag out for an eternity.

"What do you mean, exactly?" Buffy asked slowly.

Faith stood still for a moment and then she ran down the sidewalk. Buffy realized that it was far faster than a human could run; it would have been a blur to anyone else's eyes but hers. Faith pivoted and ran back just as fast to stop in front of Buffy. She wasn't even out of breath. Buffy's heart started pounding in her chest and she knew that Faith could hear it clearly. They stared at each other.

"Does anyone else know," Buffy asked cautiously. Faith shook her head.

"I don't think so. I'm a loner for the most part. They know I merely tolerate the new Watcher's council, and I will only deal with certain people even then." Faith said coolly.

"I have noticed similar…abilities…lately myself," Buffy confessed. She whipped her head around and looked around them. Then she rose off the ground and hovered about a foot off the sidewalk.

"Holy shit, B! Do they know?" Faith asked, astounded. Buffy landed lightly on her chunky heels.

"No, nobody needs to know about this," Buffy muttered to Faith.

"Why not? Don't you think Giles would be thrilled? How much more helpful will we be now?" Faith demanded.

"Faith, I don't know if that's such a good idea," Buffy protested. These new abilities (she refused to think of them as powers) frightened her. What did they mean? Where did they come from? She had an idea about that, actually, but she wasn't eager to share it.

"Oh, come on, B," Faith argued. "You know he's going to want to know about this."

"Maybe," Buffy agreed. "I just want to wait a little longer. I've been doing some research, and I want to check and see if I'm right."

"Okay. Do your research, but we're going to have to talk to Giles about this, B."

"I know, I know," Buffy said.

The two women stopped suddenly and turned and looked in the same direction. They glanced at one another, but they'd been fighting side by side, and back to back, for too long. Faith and Buffy took off at an inhuman speed and stopped outside a warehouse. They saw the two vamp guards outside the warehouse and easily slid passed them. There was an unguarded side door, and both women slipped unnoticed into the building. There was chanting and a ceremonial fire and a large demon who was doing something that they couldn't quite see. The slayers moved closer to get a better view. There was an altar and on it was a dead human who had been sacrificed with the ritual blade that the demon held in its…claw? Or talon? Its appendage, anyway. Both slayers could smell the human's blood on the blade, and they both gave a low growl of anger.

"That's it, that thing is going down," growled Faith. She ran forward towards the demon. Buffy rolled her eyes, and ran after Faith, her scythe already in her hands.

As they approached the demon, a vortex opened in front of them. Faith didn't have time to stop herself and she stumbled through it. Buffy didn't even stop to think, she dove through the vortex after Faith. When she came out the other side, she jumped up with the scythe in her hands. Faith already had her sword out in her hands. They had crouched into their battle stances and looked around them warily. Both slayers sniffed the air, but they could determine no immediate danger.

"What the hell just happened?" Buffy demanded.

"Beats me, B." Faith looked around her somewhat fearfully. "Do you think we're in one of those hell dimensions?"

"Only we could be that lucky," Buffy said with a sarcastic edge to her voice.

"You know what your problem is, B? You just don't know how to have fun anymore. You are so serious all the time. You're going to hurt yourself or something." Faith snapped back.

"That's none of your business, Faith, so butt out," Buffy snarled at her.

The two slayers did their reconnaissance in silence. They could determine only that wherever they were appeared very similar to their Earth. However, as experienced had proved before, that didn't mean much. They ended up sleeping next to one another in a field. Buffy awoke in the morning clutching her scythe. Faith sat up next to her, her sword clenched tightly in her fist. Each woman rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around.

"Huh." Faith said finally.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed.

Faith slid her sword into the scabbard on her back, and Buffy shouldered her scythe. They both started walking in the same direction. Soon both slayers were running at an inhuman speed through the fields. Buffy caught a scent at about the same time as Faith and both women veered to the right and started to slow down, slightly.

"It's a highway," Faith said in surprise. Buffy looked up and down the lonely looking road.

"Where are we?" She asked plaintively. Faith shook her head.

"I have no idea," she answered in a small voice.

Both women reached for each other at the same time, and their hands clasped together. They watched a pick up barrel down the highway, and the slayers turned in the same direction as the pickup and began walking. They walked at a brisk pace, but in the range of human normal because they still weren't certain about this strange place they'd been dumped in. They made a strange sight walking down the road together: Faith in her leather pants and leather jacket, with a black halter underneath, and her sword slung across her back; Buffy with her jeans, turtleneck, trench coat, and her scythe over her right shoulder. They began to come near to a town, and both slayers stopped and stared at a sign, which read: Welcome to Shreveport, Louisiana.

"You have got to be kidding me," Faith said under her breath.

"Faith, this might not be our world. I mean, I know it *says* Shreveport, Louisiana and all that, but it might still not even be our world. We have to be careful, and…we have to trust each other," Buffy said determinedly. She caught Faith's eye and they stared at one another for a minute.

"Okay, I'll trust you if you trust me," Faith said with her I-don't-give-a-damn attitude. Buffy shook her head.

"No, I mean for real. We have to trust each other. Our lives may depend on it. I…I do trust you Faith. Especially, after the last battle in Sunnydale." Buffy argued. Shock made Faith's eyes widen in surprise.

"All right then. We trust one another." Faith agreed.

"So, we might need to stash these. Whatever reality this is, I doubt girls run around carrying two-handed battle swords, or scythes. Then we might be able to find a phone and call…I don't know, someone." Buffy suggested. Faith shrugged.

"Seems like a fairly reasonable idea. We'll do recon? Try to determine if the area will be hostile or friendly?" Faith wanted clarification.

"That was the plan," Buffy said.

"So where do we stash these?" Faith asked curiously. Buffy chewed her lip and scanned the area.

"What about over there?" Buffy pointed to a dead tree near to the "Welcome to Shreveport" sign. Faith headed toward the tree and Buffy followed. They carefully hid their weapons in the trunk of the dead tree and then headed back toward the sign. Each one of them took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, put her chin up and marched resolutely into Shreveport.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and before she knew it, Buffy was sweating in her turtleneck sweater and trench coat. She and Faith didn't exactly carry purses with them when they went on patrol and between them they had $100 cash. Faith frowned.

"Buffy, you're not going to like this, but we may have to be slightly unethical if we want to survive this place," Faith said finally. Buffy sighed.

"Yeah, I was kind of thinking the same thing. We don't have any ID, no bank accounts, and as far as we know—no Slayer HQ to fund or support us. We are in it deep, Faith," Buffy agreed.

"Naw, B, five by five. We'll make it, trust me," Faith drawled, and there was a dark humor in her eyes.

"Well, let's figure out how to steal some different clothes, or I am going to die from the heat," Buffy groused. Then she stood there and stared at Faith for a moment. _Did I really just say that?_

"That's the spirit, Miss Priss! We'll make you a hardass, yet!" Faith gave a throaty chuckle.

Stealing was wrong, but so was getting killed in another reality before she could make it home, Buffy decided as she walked down the street with Faith sometime later. They had liberated a short strappy sundress in a green that brought out the green in her hazel eyes. She also had some cute heels to go with it. Her other clothes, and her ass-kicking boots, were tucked safely inside her new hobo bag slung over her shoulder.

"Well, it's not designer, but it will have to do," Buffy said with a sigh. Faith laughed again, and Buffy grinned at her. Apparently being stuck in alternate realities was good for Faith's personality.

"So where to first?" Faith asked innocently. Buffy thought for a minute, and realized that Faith was testing her. She looked at her fellow slayer out of the corner of her eye.

"What do _you_ think we should do first, Faith?" she asked curiously. Faith gave her a brilliant smile, and Buffy realized that that was the test. Faith wanted to know that Buffy really was trusting her.

"Well, call HQ and go to the library. Maybe the library first; we might be able to tell what's different." Faith thought aloud.

"You think there might not be an HQ?" Buffy asked.

"Not sure. This world is too weird, it seems like ours, but it isn't." Faith decided.

"Okay then, library first." Buffy agreed.

The library was large and air-conditioned, which made Buffy sigh in relief. Faith snorted and headed to the front desk.

"Excuse me," Faith said politely, "where do you keep the newspapers and stuff?"

The staff person smiled and pointed to the corner where the periodicals were kept. Faith and Buffy sat down and began reading them. Well, scanning them with their superhuman vision. They read quickly and efficiently, flipping through the newspapers quickly. Buffy picked up the next paper and gasped out loud.

"Oh my god," she breathed, and Faith was by her side reading over her shoulder in an instant.

_**A Year with Vampires: A look back at the past year since Vampires 'came out of the coffin'**_

_It has been one year to the day since the Vampire community has officially come out of the coffin, as they say, and we are taking a look at some of the major changes to our laws and culture that have come from that change. _

The article continued in the same vein (no pun intended), and both slayers sat side by side with their jaws open. Buffy, for her part, had a hard time processing all of the information in the newspaper article. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it. This was unreal, except that it was very, very real. It just wasn't her real. _Oh, god, I think I need a drink._ She shook her head, and stood up.

"We have to call HQ, um, see if it's even there. Maybe they don't even have slayers here," Buffy said. Faith nodded and stood up.

The found a pay phone and tried calling the HQ collect. The phone operator explained that was no such number or listing. Next they tried every number they could think, including Angel's. None of them worked.

"So, they don't even exist, is that it?" Faith asked finally.

"Maybe they do, and maybe they don't. If things were different enough…maybe Angel was never turned. He'd be dead and buried for over 200 years. Maybe Giles was never called to be a Watcher. Maybe he ended up as a rock & roll musician. God, I don't know. Maybe there's an airhead me out there shopping at Sak's," Buffy was babbling at this point as her mind reeled with all the possible permutations of her reality.

"God, if that's true, I don't even want to think about where I am," Faith said.

"What are we supposed to do, Faith? It's illegal to stake 'em. _Illegal_. I think they might be different from our vamps, too. Different enough to convince the government to give them citizenship status. What a clusterfuck," Buffy muttered the last part under her breath.

"Geez, B, way to break out the profanity," Faith teased. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Blame Riley. It's an army thing."

"So how do we find out if we exist," Faith asked.

"I don't know. Do you think there's a Vamp Directory?" Buffy countered with a raised eyebrow. Faith frowned.

"Maybe there is. What say we talk to some local vamps? Maybe they've got the skinny on your honey?" She suggested after thinking for a couple minutes.

"He isn't my honey. He's his own honey," Buffy said flatly.

"Or a really gross pile of dust in Ireland," Faith offered helpfully.

"Shut up," Buffy muttered.

The two slayers wandered around Shreveport. They stopped at a diner and used some of their precious money to buy a couple sandwiches and cold cokes. The girls wolfed down their food like they hadn't eaten in a week, and the waitress, taking pity on them, slipped them each a huge wedge of pie.

"Thanks!" Faith said with a mouth stuffed with pecan pie. Buffy smiled and nodded her own thanks. As they left the diner, Faith stopped and spoke to the waitress.

"What was up with that?" Buffy asked as they walked down the sidewalk.

"She had a bite mark on her neck. You could see she'd tried to hide it, but it was there. I figured she'd know where we could score some vamps." Faith explained matter of factly.

"Oh." Buffy was embarrassed that she hadn't paid that much attention to their waitress. She had been so hungry that all she could think about was demolishing her sandwich.

"Now, we have to get sexified. I can't imagine that vamps would be _that_ much different." Faith was muttering to herself, and Buffy was listening with half an ear.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Buffy asked curiously. They didn't have that much money. How were they supposed to get gorgeous?

"I don't know yet, let me think," Faith answered.

"Okay."

Later than night, Buffy decided that she really didn't want to know how Faith had gotten the items she showed up with. They both had skintight leather pants now, and Buffy had a clingy spaghetti strap top that clung to her athletic curves. They both had on their ass-kicking boots because they both decided that they needed to be ready, just in case. Faith preferred for her hair to loose, and it hung in soft waves around her face. Buffy's blonde locks were secured in a French twist. Their make-up was smoky, dark—basically normal Faith make-up.

When they made it to the address the waitress had given them, both slayers started laughing and they couldn't stop themselves. Their laughter had an hysterical edge to it, and both girls hung onto one another laughing.

"Stop," Faith gasped, "you'll screw up your mascara."

Faith had worked hard to make this happen, they needed information and this ridiculous bar 'Fangtasia' seemed like their best chance. Buffy tried to control her laughter. She hiccupped a couple times and straightened up. The line to get in was out the door. Buffy stood there for a moment, and frowned.

"Can you feel anything," she asked Faith. The other slayer turned and concentrated on the bar.

"Huh."

"It's different, right? Not quite the same feeling. I mean, it's more like whenever there's something of the other lurking about." Buffy told the other woman who nodded with a frown on her face.

"So, what, so they're not evil or something?" Faith demanded. Buffy held up her hands in surrender.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe we should just keep an open mind, and try to figure out what the hell is going on."

"Okay then." Faith handed Buffy her fake ID. She did NOT want to know how Faith had done that either.

"Lock and load," Buffy muttered.

"We didn't bring crossbows," Faith commented drily. "Although maybe I could get a couple tomorrow."

"Might be a good idea," Buffy replied through her teeth.

The closer they got, the more intense the weird prickling feeling became. It was not the same as _their _vamps, but now that they knew what it was, they'd recognize it again. They had discussed their game plan over and over again. They knew how gun shy vamps were—they did not talk to humans, if they could help it. So the slayers decided that they needed to make the vamps come to them. Faith figured that part would be easy.

"Trust me, B. We totally got this." Faith exuded confidence. And funnily enough, Buffy did trust her.

Faith completely bypassed the line. She glided to the bouncer, and Buffy followed her. It was a male vamp, and he took one cursory look at their IDs while simultaneously leering at them, before he waved them in. Faith shot triumphant grin at Buffy and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the bar. Once they got in the bar, both slayers tried to ignore the decorations, or they might start laughing again. They went to the bar and bought two drinks. Faith got a bottle of beer, but Buffy insisted on anything else.

"Fine, get her a vodka neat," Faith told the bartender. Buffy knocked it back and rolled her shoulders reflexively. She bounced in her boots for a second.

"Okay, let's do this," she told Faith.

The two slayers grabbed hands and threaded their way onto the dance floor. Faith twined her fingers with Buffy's and began to dance with her. Buffy remembered Faith's instructions. _Remember, we have to look like we don't give a shit about anything else, but each other. That will drive them crazy, trust me._ And Buffy did trust her. Well, to borrow a phrase from the late Queen C—welcome to bizarro world. So Buffy pretended. She looked at Faith like she was a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine. Faith grinned at her and returned every sultry come-hither look.

Eric Northman had artfully arranged himself on his throne, displaying himself for the pleasure of his paying guests. Pam, his childe, stood near him in case he should want her to do anything for him. She noticed the girls as soon as they walked in the bar. They were obviously together, there was a body language between them that spoke volumes. They knew one another, and trusted one another. When they started dancing, Pam felt her body tighten in pleasant areas. The two women moved together like partners. They had eyes only for one another. They were almost hypnotizing. Human, her senses reported—but then they moved almost too fast. She frowned and concentrated on them. There it was again. The women were moving faster than a human could. Then they would seem to realize their mistake and try to mimic humans again.

"Who are they," her sire asked in a bored tone of voice. She knew he meant the two girls she'd been watching.

"I'm not sure," she replied thoughtfully. "I've never seen them before."

"Find out," he said with a wave of his hand.

Pam moved smoothly from the dais toward the dance floor. She tapped the dark haired girl who grinned at her and suddenly Pam found herself between both girls. She was torn in a horrible dilemma. Both women were dancing against her, the dark haired one had her hands lightly touching Pam's hips. Yet, her sire had commanded and she must obey. With a sigh, she grabbed the dark haired one, who in turn grabbed her blonde friend. They trailed after Pam toward the dais. They were tiny women, neither one topped 5'5", but their presence was huge.

"Who are you?" Eric asked them as though nothing could be more boring.

"Who do you want us to be," Faith asked flippantly. Buffy rolled her eyes at that.

"Do not play games with me, who are you?" Eric sat up and leaned forward, looking intently at both women. They frowned at him and then looked at one another.

"I'm Buffy," the blonde said finally, jerking her thumb towards her chest. Eric snorted.

"Right, let's try again, who are you?" He drawled. Buffy rolled her eyes again.

"I. am. Buffy," she said slowly and carefully as though Eric might be mentally deficient. He glared at the cheeky little creature. Faith elbowed him and whispered.

"Jesus, B! Don't piss him off!" Eric smiled and steepled his fingers.

"So your name really is Buffy?" He could not keep the amusement out of his voice.

"That's right, laugh it up. Because hello, pot!" The blonde growled at him.

"I am not quite sure what you mean," he said with a slight frown.

"Fang-tasia. Really? I mean come on," the blonde continued. "This place is…well, really, it must make every self-respecting vampire want to stake themselves or something."

"Probably even the non-self-respecting ones," muttered the dark haired female. The blonde, this Buffy, nodded in agreement.

"And what do you know of self-respecting vampires?" Eric asked in amusement. These two women, they were entertaining, he would give them that much. The blonde tossed her head arrogantly and Eric leaned forward even more. He frowned darkly at her.

"You have been marked." He stated flatly. Buffy's hand automatically went to the scar on her neck. She glared at him. This woman was feisty!

"That's none of your business," she practically growled at him.

"B, calm down. Listen, mister, the big guy's not here at the moment, but let's just not talk about him for right now. Okay?" She tried to placate the both of them. This was not going the way she had wanted.

"The big guy?" Eric's voice became velvety soft. He stood up to his full height and moved down to tower over the two petite females. The dark haired one squinted up at him.

"I don't know, it would be close. I think he's broader than you are, no offense, or anything." She said conversationally.

"Shut up, Faith," the one called Buffy hissed at the dark haired one.

"B, seriously. We've got bigger fish and all that," the dark haired one insisted.

"Fine," the blonde one growled. She crossed her arms across her chest, and Eric thought her adorable.

"Okay, mister, have you ever heard a chap named Angel or Angelus?" the dark haired one asked earnestly. Eric frowned.

"No. Pam?" Eric looked toward his childe.

"No."

"Okay, um, Spike?" the dark-haired woman tried again.

"William the Bloody," the blonde corrected her friend.

"Yeah, either one, really," the dark-haired woman corrected herself.

"No." Both vampires replied.

"Well, that only stands to reason," the one called Buffy mused. "If there is no Angelus, there's no Spike."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," the one called Faith agreed.

"Oh!" The blonde got excited. "One time, Anya screwed with alternate realities and Willow and Xander were vamps."

"Okay, what about two California vamps named Willow and Xander?" the other woman asked uncertainly with a glance at her friend.

"I could not be certain," Eric replied. "California is large and is broken into three kingdoms."

"Kingdoms?" Buffy asked.

"Of course. Purely for vampiric purposes. It allows us to keep track of our population." Eric explained coolly. Really, this was more information than he would normally share with humans.

Both women seemed to deflate slightly in front of him.

"Okay. Thanks for your time and all that," the dark haired female said softly. They moved almost as one away from the dais. Eric caught the arm of the blonde one because she was closer. She stared at his hand in amazement and then ripped her arm out of his hand.

"Wait, who are you?" Eric asked again. The two women looked at each other.

"I'm Buffy, and she's Faith." The blonde said coldly. "It's been fun and it's been real, and we're going to go now."

"Be seizing ya," Faith added jauntily with a little wave. Eric tried to grab the blonde again, and found himself contemplating the roof of his bar. The blonde, this Buffy moved back from him cautiously.

"C'mon Faith, we're audi," Buffy hissed. She grabbed the dark haired girl and they moved back from the dais. His servants, the other vampires hovered uncertainly. The two girls moved so that they were back to back. They circled warily, their eyes on the room, scanning constantly.

"I bet you wish we'd brought weapons, huh," Faith whispered to Buffy. Eric could hear everything they said and he frowned slightly. Were these two women members of the Fellowship of the Sun?

"Well a crossbow would be damn handy right now," Buffy groused, and Eric's eyebrows shot up his forehead.

"I like five feet of carbon steel myself," Faith purred.

"I still don't understand how you can make fighting sound so dirty," Buffy continued.

"Let's just get out of here. I'll let you browbeat me later, I promise," the dark-haired one purred again. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"Well, this was major bust. I guess…I guess that means Angel's not here," the blonde sounded lost for a moment.

"Don't worry about the big guy right now, B. Worry about getting out of here, and not as yummy Slayer Snacks—tastes great, less filling." The one called Faith encouraged her.

Eric was at a loss. He should be furious. He should kill these two women himself, with his own bare hands, but he was intrigued. Then the two women did the completely unexpected. They ran, but when they ran it was as fast, maybe faster than vampires. They were almost a blur.

"What the hell are they?" He muttered.

"I don't know, Eric. I'll find out," Pam promised.

_finis_


End file.
